The Who's Who in Australia is an Australian biographical reference first published by Fred Johns

Fred Johns

Frederick Johns was an Australian journalist and biographer.Johns was born in Houghton, Michigan, United States, son of Cornishman Ezekial Johns of Cornwall, UK. Fred Johns was educated in Cornwall. He emigrated to Australia in 1884 and obtained a position on the South Australian Register, and...

 in 1906 as Johns's Notable Australians. It has been used by academics as a resource that identifies Australia's leading individuals, and has been analysed when studying the social backgrounds – particularly education – of Australia's elites. The Who's Who reference is currently published by Crown Content, a reference publishing company owned by the Bennelong Group.

History

Who’s Who in Australia began as the vision of South Australian sub-editor Fred Johns. Following his arrival in Australia in 1884, Johns compiled a volume of biographies of notable living compatriots. First published in 1906, Johns's Notable Australians contained nearly 1,100 entries representing a wide range of endeavours. Subsequent editions were published in 1908, 1912, 1913, 1914 and 1922, before the book first appeared as Who's Who in Australia in 1927.

Fred Johns died in December 1932, earning a reputation as one the most reliable sources of information on prominent Australians.

Series

There are three products in the current Who's Who series including,

• Who's Who in Australia – Prominent Australians from a range of fields, including business, politics, the arts, sport, law, entertainment and academia. Currently includes over 13,000 biographical entries.
• Who's Who in Business in Australia – Individuals and organisations from all sectors of Australian industry, including government bodies, plus individual entries on senior employees. Currently includes 24,000 biographies and 5,000 company profiles.
• Who’s Who of Australian Women – Australian women from a range of fields, including community service, business, politics, the arts, sport, law, entertainment and academia. Currently contains 6,600 biographies of notable Australian Women.

The books are available in hardcopy and online for subscribers.

Criteria for inclusion

• Who's Who in Australia – People are included if they have significantly contributed to Australian life on a national or international level. They are people who have built a positive profile over time. There are no restrictions on age or sex and entrants need not be born in Australia. Each person’s nomination is considered on its merits alone and entry in the book cannot be paid for. The book is a snapshot of Australian society at a particular point in time.
• Who's Who in Business in Australia – People are included if they are contributing to Australian or international business on a national or international level. They are people who are considered to be significant business leaders. There are no restrictions on age or sex and entrants need not be born in Australia.
• Who’s Who of Australian Women – Women are included if they have made a significant contribution to Australian life. The contribution can be at a community, state, national or international level. There are no restrictions on age and entrants need not be born in Australia.

Individuals can nominate notable Australians for inclusion in the book. Criteria for inclusion are those who are assessed by the editors as having contributed "to Australian life on a national or international level". The editors assert that an entry to the book cannot be bought.

2010 edition

Who’s Who in Australia 2010 was released December 2009 with over 420 new entries. Among the new entrants for the 2010 book were Gold Logie winning actor Rebecca Gibney

Rebecca Gibney

Rebecca Catherine Gibney is a New Zealand born Australian actress.-Biography:Gibney was born the youngest of six children, and brought up in Wellington. She has said she wasn't so much funny as a "bit odd" as a child. "I was a bit like Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family...

, author Nam Le

Nam Le

Nam Thien Le is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player from Huntington Beach, California....

, chef Jacques Reymond , soccer superstar Tim Cahill

Tim Cahill

Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill is an football player of Australian nationality who plays for Everton and the Australian national football team...

 and comedian Dave Hughes

Dave Hughes

David William "Hughesy" Hughes is an Australian stand-up comedian, radio and television presenter. He is currently co-host on the Network Ten's The Project and Before the Game as well as the breakfast radio show Hughesy and Kate.-Television:Hughes co-hosted the ABC comedy talk show The Glass House...

.

2011 edition

Who’s Who in Australia 2011 was released 9 December 2010. Among the new entries were Hollywood A-listers Sam Worthington

Sam Worthington

Samuel Henry J. "Sam" Worthington is an English born, Australian actor. After almost a decade of roles in Australian TV shows and films, Worthington gained Hollywood's attention by playing Marcus Wright in Terminator Salvation and the lead role, Jake Sully, in James Cameron's science...

, Abbie Cornish

Abbie Cornish

Abbie Cornish is an Australian actress. She is well known in Australia for a number of film and television roles, particularly her award-winning lead performance in 2004's Somersault, and internationally for her role as Fanny Brawne in Bright Star and her appearance as Sweet Pea in Sucker Punch.-...

 and Simon Baker

Simon Baker

Simon Baker is an Australian actor. Since 2008, he has starred in the CBS television series The Mentalist.-Early life:...

, tennis player Samantha Stosur

Samantha Stosur

Samantha "Sam" Jane Stosur is an Australian professional tennis player. She won the 2011 US Open singles title and was a finalist at the 2010 French Open. Stosur is ranked World No. 6 and her career high in singles is World No. 4, achieved on 21 February 2011. She is a former world No...

, neurosurgeon Dr Wirginia Maixner, racing car driver Jamie Whincup

Jamie Whincup

Jamie Whincup is Australian auto racing driver who competes in the V8 Supercar, driving for TeamVodafone. He is a two-time V8 Supercars champion and three-time Bathurst 1000 winner.-Early career:...

, editorial cartoonist Peter Nicholson, masterchef George Calombaris

George Calombaris

George Calombaris is an Australian chef and a judge of the Network Ten series MasterChef Australia. Prior to his role on MasterChef, Calombaris regularly appeared on the daytime Ten cooking show Ready Steady Cook. He owns three restaurants in Melbourne and one in Mykonos, Greece...

 and cricket player Peter Siddle

Peter Siddle

Peter Matthew Siddle is an Australian Test cricketer. He is a specialist right-arm fast-medium bowler who plays for Victoria and the Australia national cricket team.-Early life and career:...

Complete list of editions and predecessors

Editions of Who's Who in Australia and its predecessors.

Edition	Title	Year
1	Johns's Notable Australians	1906
2	Johns's Notable Australians and Who is Who is Australasia	1908
3	Fred Johns's Annual	1912
4	Fred Johns's Annual	1913
5	Fred Johns's Annual	1914
6	Who's Who in the Commonwealth of Australia	1922
7	Who's Who in Australia	1927–28
8	Who's Who in Australia	1933–34
9	Who's Who in Australia	1935
10	Who's Who in Australia	1938
11	Who's Who in Australia	1941
12	Who's Who in Australia	1944
13	Who's Who in Australia	1947
14	Who's Who in Australia	1950
15	Who's Who in Australia	1955
16	Who's Who in Australia	1959
17	Who's Who in Australia	1962
18	Who's Who in Australia	1965
19	Who's Who in Australia	1968
20	Who's Who in Australia	1971
21	Who's Who in Australia	1974
22	Who's Who in Australia	1977
23	Who's Who in Australia	1980
24	Who's Who in Australia	1983
25	Who's Who in Australia	1985–86
26	Who's Who in Australia	1988
27	Who's Who in Australia	1991
28	Who's Who in Australia	1992
29	Who's Who in Australia	1993
30	Who's Who in Australia	1994
31	Who's Who in Australia	1995
32	Who's Who in Australia	1996
33	Who's Who in Australia	1997
34	Who's Who in Australia	1998
35	Who's Who in Australia	1999
36	Who's Who in Australia	2000
37	Who's Who in Australia	2001
38	Who's Who in Australia	2002
39	Who's Who in Australia	2003
40	Who's Who in Australia	2004
41	Who's Who in Australia	2005
42	Who's Who in Australia	2006
43	Who's Who in Australia	2007
44	Who's Who in Australia	2008
45	Who's Who in Australia	2009
46	Who's Who in Australia	2010
47	Who's Who in Australia	2011